Earth Gazer

My mother-in-law has been in hospital now for over 14 weeks. Initially at Warwick Hospital and subsequently moved to a smaller, cottage hospital, where the care has been exemplary. We have seen the worst (well, almost) and the best of the NHS. By the way, I feel that the best the NHS offers is when good, qualified, reliable and experienced nursing staff are allowed to do their job with pride and not be 'controlled' by faceless, penny-pushing managers. Despite having radiotherapy for a brain tumour (she's had, and has been treated for cancer for the past 6+ years), the treatments have not worked and we're in that awful situation where the most that can be done is to keep her as comfortable as possible. A reaction to the steroids didn't help, neither did a bout of shingles. We kept thinking she'd be recovering "if only she'd get over the steroid side-effects..." and then "if only she'd get over the shingles...", but the reality th

When you start getting into herbalism, you do have to start learning some terms which may be unfamiliar to most. You'll probably be able to guess what an 'infused oil' is, but what about a tincture or an elixir as opposed to an electuary? With a good teacher and/or some good books, all will become clear in due course - there's no need to rush! I suggest starting in a small way and make sure you enjoy yourself. Over at ' Whispering Earth ', Lucinda has put up a article about salves, ointments and balms with some useful recipes too, including a basic vegan salve recipe. This does throw up one of the issues I've covered before which is the use of beeswax and being a vegan... In a nutshell, the Vegan Society decreed in 1988 that vegans should not use or consume beeswax or honey. Until then, it was considered OK and in fact I have some old vegan cookery books which include honey as an ingredient in a few recipes. I completely understand their point of vie